In white America, a black man's otherness is stamped indelibly on his
face.
Whether he runs the 100-meter dash or runs for President, whether he
orates like Martin Luther King Jr. or drawls like Stepin Fetchit, his
color sets him apart. For him the American melting pot can sear faster
than it assimilates. And so he looks to his roots, finding solace in
soul, while fixing an eye on the main chance of upward mobility. His
tragedy is that, in both worlds, he may end...